Family strife!
by Reibunriinta
Summary: A collection of one-shots focusing on the Strife family (Cloti obviously) ((Cover by Bpmm on Photo bucket...I think...if you own this image, and don't want me using it just ask, I will take it down))
1. Adoption day,Poor Marlene

Denzel and Marlene sat eagerly in seventh heaven bar. Tifa had called them down a few minutes before, apparently they had something important to talk about. Important enough that Cloud needed to be there, meaning that he was coming home from work early. Tifa had also closed the bar earlier than usual. This also meant that they had to wait for Cloud to get there, who was running a few minutes late.

So the two children sat patiently and waited, passing the time by helping Tifa compile recipes. After a few minutes of this, Cloud came walking into the bar, and after a "sorry I'm late" sat down next to Tifa.

"So what's the news?" burst Marlene excitedly.

Tifa smiled, Cloud looked anxious.

"OK," Tifa said at last "So as you know after Meteor hit a lot of things were lost, like your birth certificates and other legal documents. Well, we've recently tracked down your birth certificates. And Denzel, if you don't mind...Me and Cloud want to legally adopt you. Are you OK with that?" Tifa asked slowly.

Denzel nodded "of course." he said. Tifa clapped, even Cloud smiled. Marlene cheered. "Yay! me next!" she exclaimed, then she paused "oh, never mind" she said sadly, remembering Barret. "But yay Denzel!" She said enthusiastically, but she couldn't mask her disappointment. She hugged Denzel, then the family group hugged. Well they were a family right?

((*))

Later that night, after Denzel and Marlene had gone to sleep Cloud and Tifa discussed what had happened, and discussed Marlene's predicament

"He wouldn't!" exclaimed Tifa in reply to Cloud's remark that 'Barret would want Marlene back soon' After a pause she sighed and said quietly. "Well I guess he will, after all he is her guardian, not us." She paused again, tears falling from her face.

"Tifa?" Cloud asked coming closer to her, the room was dark, but he could still see her tears. He embraced her, and she cried into his shoulder.

"it's just...I'm going to miss her so much!" she whispered.

"I know..." Cloud said softly "I will too...we all will."

"Do you think she'll miss us?" asked Tifa.

"I don't know, but it's not like Barret will never let us see her again." Cloud said reassuringly.

"I know..." Tifa said "but it, it just won't be the same."

((*))

What they hadn't known, was that Marlene could hear everything they just said. She was sitting near their bedroom door, hugging her knees and wiping tears from her eyes. Never had she felt so torn, so lost, so sad. She looked up at the ceiling and thought of Aerith, had it been two years already? She hadn't known Aerith long...but Aerith was willing to give everything for her. She sure wished she was here now, because just maybe she knew the answer to all Marlene's problems. Suddenly she felt warmth wash over her, it felt as though Aerith were right there with her. Suddenly a light came on and Denzel came out of the bedroom they shared.

"Marlene Are you alright?" Denzel asked concerned.

Marlene smiled and got up from where she sat. "I'm fine." she said. "Let's go back to sleep."

After getting back into bed Marlene yawned and after closing her eyes fell into a deep sleep. A sleep in which she dreamed about Aerith, Aerith and some guy who somehow knew Cloud. They told her so many things, most of them she forgot in the morning, but one thing that she did remember: everything would be fine, and she would be happy no matter life would throw at her.

_**A/N So what do you think? I always felt that Marlene would be a bit insecure about Barret leaving her with Cloti and not being able to be adopted like Denzel was. At some point I am going to write a sequel one-shot or two to this but there will probably be a few unrelated ones in between. Also I wrote this on wattpad like a year ago (right after I wrote the prologue of 'Into The Deep' as a one-shot. ^_~ anyway I'll update soon (I'll try anyway!) mata-na! ^_~ see ya ^_~**_


	2. DysFUNctional prt 1

Tifa had already been having a stressful day, the last thing she needed was to see Denzel coming home from school with a bloody lip and two black eyes.

She threw down the towel she was using and ran over to him. "What happened to you?" She asked. She looked around. "Where's Marlene?"

Denzel frowned. "She's in the principles office." He seemed like he was about to cry. "She should be home soon."

Tifa sighed. Whatever happened was probably not his nor Marlene's fault; it never was.

"lets get you washed up." She said as cheerfully as she could. She led him into the bathroom where she dabbed at his face with a wet cloth, and gently pressed an ice-pack against his eyes.

Meanwhile, he told her everything that had gone down.

"I was going to my next class, and I ran into Marlene. She was lost and I was trying to help her find her next class, one of the kids in my class saw us together and started harassing us. I was just going to let it go, but he got violent, so I tried to fight back...well Marlene jumped on him and started to punching him and pounding him right?" He sighed. "Well, that's when the principle showed up...and the boy tried to blame Marlene. They both ended up getting in trouble, I somehow managed not to though. Maybe they thought my bruises were punishment enough."

Tifa sighed; she wished she could talk to this kids mother, though even if she did, those talks never went down well. No one listened to the 'fake mom' who ran a bar even though her kids were around, and dated the 'fake dad' who was gone all the time.

A little while later, while Tifa was making dinner, Denzel asked. "what does dysfunctional mean?"

Tifa frowned. "It's something that's broken and doesn't reach it's potential." She paused a moment "Why"

"That kid said this family was dysfunctional..." He sighed. "I guess he's right isn't he."

Tifa wanted to scream, though somehow she managed to stay calm. After all they'd been through together, after Geo Stigma, Sephiroth coming back, and Cloud leaving, after all of that they still felt as though their family could fall a part any minute. Tifa hoped that once they officially adopted Denzel that things would feel a little more stable, but even then what about Marlene? Were they a family? If they weren't then what were they? An imposter?

Denzel sighed. "Do you think Marlene'll be happier when she's with Barret? Will she even miss us?"

"I don't know" Tifa said as she wrung out her dish cloth, taking all her anger out on it. Tears fell from her eyes; Marlene's situation had loomed over her ever since they'd talked to Denzel about adopting him.

Denzel sighed. "She'll probably be better off with him. At least she won't have to deal with being dysfunctional anymore."

Tifa dropped the towel and came over to Denzel. "Denzel...you aren't re-thinking your adoption are you?" If that was true it'd be all Tifa could do not to strangle that kid who started all this.

Denzel shook his head. "Of course not. I was just saying that Marlene won't have to deal with this anymore, right?"

Tifa sat down across from him with a sigh. "I suppose so." She fought back the tears; she wouldn't let Denzel see her cry. "Do you really think she'll be better off?"

Denzel nodded. "I think she misses him...she gets sad whenever we talk about him."

Tifa shook her head slightly. Marlene wasn't sad because she missed Barret; she was sad because she didn't want to say goodbye.

A part of her resented Barret. After all, he left Marlene with them for two years, and she only saw him once every few months to a year. Didn't he realize that she was going to get attached to them? She probably thought of Cloud as more of a dad, at this point Barret probably felt more like an uncle to her. Tifa had to remind herself that Barret had no choice; this was the best he could do.

Marlene came into seventh heaven then, when she saw Denzel, her eyes filled with tears. She came over and gave him a hug.

"What did the principle say?" Tifa asked her nervously.

Marlene frowned. "Apparently I'm too violent for my age, and he's questioning my upbringing...basically he thinks it's yours and Cloud's fault."

Tifa clenched her fists. "What did he say to the other boy?" She questioned through clenched teeth.

"Apparently he had no excuse, because he comes from a normal family."

Tifa punched the counter, nearly breaking the empty glasses that were on it. "That's enough!" She shouted.

She walked towards the door. "I'll be back in a little while, I'm going to have some words with your principle!" She exclaimed as she left the bar.

Marlene and Denzel exchanged looks. First they were startled, and then they just busted up laughing, no one messes with the Strife family, that was for sure.

_**A/N hey everybody, sorry I haven't updated this in forever! I've been super busy lately and just have been generally uninspired with this story. But yeah, I came up with this idea the other night, and I've finally had the time to write this. There is going to be a second part to this one-shot. (Lets just say Cloud gets involved and things go crazy. Lol) so hopefully I'll have that up as soon as possible. In the meantime leave a review because I love hearing from y'all. Alright that's about it for now. Love y'all -Reibun**_


	3. DysFUNctional prt 2

Cloud had been having a good day, until he almost ran Tifa over with Fenrir.

He had finished his deliveries early, and he was looking forward to coming home early. He was happily humming as he rode and thinking of how lucky he was to have his own little family. His daydreaming was cut short, when someone stepped out into the street.

Cloud cursed and swerved out of the way, bringing Fenrir to a stop. He got off his bike to see if the person was okay, and he then saw Tifa with an apologetic smile.

"Tifa, are you okay?" Cloud ran up and embraced her.

"I'm fine. Is Fenrir okay?" She asked with a little laugh.

"What are you doing here? Are the kids okay?" Cloud had gone into emergency mode, ready to fight off Sephiroth, or anyone else to protect his family.

Tifa sighed "No. There not. They got into a fight at school."

Cloud sighed. "Again?"

Tifa nodded. "Some kid attacked Denzel, Marlene stood up for him…"

"Did she win?" Cloud asked.

Tifa rolled her eyes. "You know she did. Anyway, apparently he blames us for it. I am just so sick of people treating us this way! We are a real family like any other family! Why can't people accept that? I just…ooooh!"

Cloud put his hands on tifa's shoulders. "Calm down." He soothed. "What are we going to do about it?"

"I'm going to talk to their principle. It's messed up for him to treat us this way!" Tifa exclaimed with clenched fists.

Cloud gazed down at her clenched fists anxiously. "Umm….you're just going to talk to him right?" he asked "You're not going to '_talk' _talk to her right" he used air quotes when he said the word talk.

Tifa grinned. "That's for me to know and you to find out." She said, and walked off to Fenrir.

Cloud sighed. "Teef…" Cloud whined joining her on the bike. She wrapped her arms around his waist as he started the bike. She rested her chin on his shoulder.

Cloud took a deep breath. "Your hair smells good." He exclaimed.

Tifa giggled at him. "Just drive silly."

Cloud chuckled and revved Fenrir's engine before driving off.

When they arrived at the school, Tifa stomped up the front steps. Cloud followed behind nervously, not sure what she planned to do.

Tifa ignored the teachers and parents that were staring at them, as she marched her way to the principal's office.

"Teef…are you sure he isn't too busy?" Cloud asked with a frown.

Tifa shook her head. "I'm not, but schools over, so I don't care."

She burst through the door, and the few children who were in detention stared at them in shock.

His secretary stood up, and with giving them a disgusted look she said "Sorry, Mr. Perkin's not in his office right now." She said with a nervous look.

By virtue of her height, Tifa stood on her tip-toes and looked through the office door's window; Mr. Perkins was sitting at his desk talking to someone on the phone.

"Hm…Is that his twin brother I'm seeing then?" Tifa asked feigning innocents.

"Well…I…um…." The secretary stuttered nervously.

Tifa walked towards the door and was about to open it when the secretary shrieked.

"DON'T GO IN THERE!" She exclaimed.

Tifa whirled around with an innocent smile. "Why not?"

The secretary tried to think of a reason for a moment before she gave up. "Fine" she sighed. "Make it quick. I do want to go home sometime tonight." She snapped and Tifa rolled her eyes.

"How nice of you." She said, and turned back to the door. She flung the door open, her fists raised.

With expert reflexes, Cloud grabbed her wrists and held her hands behind her back. They entered the room this way, and Cloud nearly lost his grip on her when Mr. Perkin's sighed and gave them a disgusted look.

"Sorry Petunia, I have to go…I have to deal with some _parents_" he said the word parents with emphasis, as though suggesting that Tifa and Cloud were not real parents, which of course in the mind of a jerk-face they weren't. "Alright I'll see you tonight. Love you." He said to his wife, before with another sigh he hung up the phone.

"Ms. Lockhart, Mr. Strife, take a seat please."

Tifa nearly broke her chair as she shoved herself into it with a scowl. Cloud gently sat down, and once more took Tifa's hands.

"I take it you are upset about today's incident with Ms. Wallace."

"That's for damn sure!" Tifa exclaimed, banging her fist on his desk. Cloud grabbed her wrist again, and she turned around to face him. "Can I have my hands back please?" she whispered to him.

He shook his head.

"Why not?" she demanded in a whisper.

"Because I'm afraid you'll use them." Cloud whispered in response.

Tifa grinned and winked and then turned back to Mr. Perkins.

"Listen, I understand that you think you have Ms. Wallace's best interest in mind bu─" Mr. Perkins started, but Tifa cut him off.

"What do you mean we _'Think'_?!" she demanded.

Mr. Perkins sighed. "Ms. Lockhart, I have seen a good few fights in this school. Some of them have been more severe than others. Ms. Wallace is in second grade. Never has second grader got into a fight as serious as Ms. Wallace did today. When I found her she was on top of Billy, she had given him black eyes and a bloody nose." He held a hand up to silence any of Tifa's protests. "Now, I understand that she did not start the fight. But for a young girl like that to be violent in nature, that is rather disturbing to me."

Tifa spoke up then. "Mr. Perkins, we taught Marlene these skills because there have been several instances where they are necessary. Since even before Meteor fall she has been in direct danger, and because of it, we found it essential that she learn the basics of fighting. I can assure you that we do not encourage violence in our home."

"Ms. Lockhart, think about what you just said!" Mr. Perkins exclaimed. "Do you really think that a child she be raised in that environment?!"

Tifa stopped, her mouth falling open in shock. She felt as though she had been stabbed by an emotional Masamune. "Wh..what did you just say?"

Mr. Perkins sighed. "Ms. Lockhart. I respect what you and your husband have done for this planet, but I don't think that you are fit to be parents." He put his hand up to silence Cloud, who was about to speak.

"I don't mean to say that you do not have the capacity to raise children, but is it really safe for you to do so? Over the last few years your children have been in direct danger, you have said this yourself. I believe the correct thing for you to do is let Ms. Wallace return to her father, and Denzel to a more stable home. I'm afraid your lifestyles are not fit for parenthood, wouldn't you agree?"

Tifa stood up and was about to punch him where in counted, when Cloud stood up and grabbed her to hold her in place.

Cloud spoke up then. "Look" he said "We meet the requirements of adopting Denzel, and Marlene's father is currently unable to take care of her. Now, I'd appreciate if you looked in a mirror before judging someone else, and in the meantime leave my children and my wife alone."

Tifa gasped and turned to him. "You said wife!" she exclaimed with a grin.

Cloud's eyes widened in horror. "N..no I didn't."

"Yes you most certainly did!" Tifa exclaimed, and she started to follow him out of the room.

"Didn't." Cloud said.

"Yes you DID!" Tifa squealed.

They continued to go back and forth like this, ignoring Mr. Perkin's and his secretary both banging their heads against their desks.

They continued to do this on the ride back to seventh heaven.

So when they burst into the bar and instead of greeting Marlene and Denzel, Cloud exclaimed. "You were hearing things!"

And Tifa replied "I was not!"

Denzel and Marlene burst out laughing, and Tifa and Cloud looked at them in surprise

"So?" Denzel asked, "How did it go?"

Tifa grinned. "Well…It took a lot of restraint…but I managed not to shove his face through his office window." She winked.

Cloud rolled his eyes. "You call that restraint? I had to stop you from going into full Sephiroth mode."

Tifa laughed. "I was using as much restraint as I could." She turned back to Denzel and Marlene. "Anyway, I don't think he'll bother you guys again…though Marlene…try to be a little less lethal next time sweetie." Tifa smiled, but it wasn't hard to tell that she was holding back her tears. Had Mr. Perkins been right? What if they really weren't fit to be parents?

Later that night, once the children went to bed, Tifa voiced these concerns to Cloud.

"Denzel thinks we're dysfunctional." Tifa said with a sigh. "I suppose he's right isn't he?"

Cloud nodded, but smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way." He said.

Tifa gave him a confused look.

Cloud smiled. "It's something my mom used to say. When people would make fun of me for having one parent, they used to say we were dysfunctional…I told my mom about it and she just laughed. 'There's an old saying about that' she said. 'We put the fun in dysfunctional.'"

He grinned at her. "I never understood it at the time…but now I think I do. I mean…could you imagine if we were a normal family?"

Tifa's eyes widened. She couldn't imagine that, maybe she didn't even want to. She smiled and cuddled into him. "Goodnight, hubbie."

"I didn't say wife!"

"Yes you did!"

"Didn't!"

"Did!"

"Didn't!"

"Did!"

And they continued to argue until they fell asleep. For once, and even just for a moment, everything was alright with the world.

_**A/N I somehow managed to write this even though I'm participating in NaNoWriMo this month. Anyway, this was inspired by a meme I saw about putting the fun in dysfunctional. And also the country song"The Harper valley P.T.A"...so yeah, I always thought that there would be people who fins the Strife's situation a bit peculiar...and people naturally dislike things they don't understand...so I guess that's where I started to come up with this idea. Anyway, I don't know when I'll update this again, but I will hopefully find time sooner rather than late. I don't really have time to edit eight now, but hopefully there aren't too many mistakes. Anyway, I love y'all -Reibun**_


	4. Christmas blues

"Is it on?" Cloud called out to them.

Marlene squealed.

"I'll take that as a yes" Cloud mumbled with a smile as he made sure the extension chord was plugged in all the way.

"Yes it's on." Tifa called out to him.

Cloud stood and rounded the corner. He grinned when he saw his little family gathered around the Christmas tree, in awe of the brightly colored lights.

"Beautiful isn't it?" He asked as he joined them and wrapped an arm around Tifa's shoulders. He nodded approvingly towards the tree. The whole room in fact, was a Christmas wonderland, it had everything but the snow.

Zack would have been proud of them; his athletic ability was only matched by his knack for spreading holiday cheer. Cloud felt the familiar pang of mourning for his friend, he wondered if him and Aerith were celebrating in the lifestream. Did one celebrate in the lifestream?

He felt Tifa wrap an arm around him, evidently wondering the same things. "We should send his parents a Christmas card...who knows how they must feel right now. Aerith's mom too."

Cloud nodded. "Of course. I wonder if anyone visits them."

"The Turks do. They visit whenever they can...it's their way of atoning...I suppose." A single tear fell down her cheek. "Do we deserve to be happy like this?"

Cloud pulled her closer, wiping the tears that had welled up into her eyes. "I don't know." He whispered to her. "But the kids deserve this, we need to be strong for them."

Tifa smiled as she watched the children Denzel and Marlene as they cheerfully put ordiments on the tree, singing along to the Christmas music that played on the radio. Tifa repressed a sigh, the thought that she didn't deserve the life that she had was still plaguing her mind.

Cloud took her gently by the hand and started to lead her to his office, she couldn't go on torturing herself like this. His thoughts on how to help her let go of her guilt were interrupted by the children.

"Where are you going?" Marlene asked.

"Is everything alright?" Denzel asked worriedly.

Cloud nodded "Present talk, we'll be out in a minute." And then the two adults disappeared.

Marlene returned to hanging gifts humming Christmas songs cheerfully until she heard the office door shut. And then she sighed. "They're not talking about presents." She said softly to Denzel.

Denzel shrugged. Returning to the tree to hang the trinket that he held in his hand, it was an old spare Fenrir part that Cloud had once made into an ornament. "It's none of our business." He said. "If it was important they'd tell us."

Marlene nodded as she concentrated on aligning the ornament just right, so that the lights on the tree made the glass angel reflect the light. When she finished she stood and sighed. "They've been upset since I asked them to adopt me..." She sighed. "I really wish I hadn't done that."

Denzel frowned. "So...you don't want them to adopt you?" He asked slowly.

Marlene looked up at him with tear filled eyes. "Of course I do. Well...kind of anyway...I don't know what to think anymore." She wiped the tears away from her eyes and walked to the kitchen where she retrieved two sugar cookies for her and Denzel. She gave him the cookie and he gave her a hug. They were siblings whether legally or not, could Barret really take her away from that?

Tears welled up in her eyes but she wiped them away. She couldn't feel like this during the Christmas season. For all she knew this could be her last Christmas at Seventh heaven, she had to enjoy it.

_**A/N Wow that was depressing! That was supposed to be a fluff one-shot. O_0 Well, I'll try to actually add some fluff in next time. The next few one-shots will be Christmas-y because in honor of December. Anyway, merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it, and happy winter/holidays to those who don't. Love y'all -Reibun**_


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